~7/07/02-ConfedeRats, 57 Split, The Ginas [Players Bar, Bend]

Saturday the 6th-Players: The ConfedeRats, 57 Split, and The Ginas. I find myself liking Players quite a bit lately. Maybe it's the free soberguy drinks. Or maybe it's because they're been putting on quite a few great bands on their tiny little stage. Maybe it's because the crowds have all been friendly at the shows I've been to. Maybe it's just nice to sit and have a drink with some friends while listening to some killer music. Maybe it was the fact that there was quite a few attractive girls in attendance at this show. Regardless of the reasons players again puts on a fine show. 57 Split opened, the first of two bands I'd not heard before this. Their female fronted punk sound was a nice change of pace to the usual batch of male singers we hear in Bend. The lead singer bounced and sprawled and posed on stage, shooting a ton of energy into her performance. The four piece played a great set, and then new band The Ginas set up their equipment. I was really excited to hear these ladies play, as they're the only ALL girl band that I can remember being from Bend. They announced that the band had only been together for two months, and this was their first public performance. That being said I don't feel too bad saying that they could use a bit of work, but for a new bands first time out they did quite well. They played a VERY short two song set, which was disappointing, but as Jaime said "always leave them wanting more...". I look forwards to seeing these ladies again as they add more songs to their play list. The Rats were the last band of the night, and started tearing things up. I'm more and more impressed with these kids every time I hear them. If you read the reviews here you know the Rats put out a batch of streetpunkish songs, loud, fast, and extremely well played. The crowd always eats up their stuff, from rednecks with hats, to cute punk rock girls (at one point the "pit" consisted of nothing but 9 girls dancing around, most people were still watching the band, really....) Their set this night was cut short by problems the bass player was having, but they didn't disappoint in the slightest.